Malaysia Flight 370 Flew Low to Avoid Radar

Malaysian investigators reported on Monday local time that they believed the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 flew low, at roughly 5000 feet, to avoid radar in at least three countries after it made its fateful detour.

The investigators, cited by the Sydney Morning Herald, did not specify which two countries the flight may have passed over, other than Malaysia. The technique is called “terrain masking” and evades many radar systems.

Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities have asked Australia to take the lead in investigating the possible “southern arc” along which the Boeing 777 may have flown. The other alternate route was northwards, over Central Asia.